E-M5 Mark III in an abandoned Welsh mine

[comment23]

Pretty interesting and impressive, both the location and camera.

Includes ‘hold under running water’ test!

Apologies if his has been posted elsewhere.

 

[Dinobe]

Looks an amazing location to visit!

 

[Strymon76]

Wow....Seems Olympus has again managed to hit above it's weight. The em5 mii sounds like a winner to me. Especially regarding battery life. Impressive indeed!

 

[ac12]

I have not reviewed the methodology of determining battery life for mirrorless cameras, but in my experience, with my EM1-mk1, it is not the NUMBER of SHOTS that is relevant, but the NUMBER of HOURS / TIME that the camera is ON. Especially since the EM1 and EM5 do not have a power draining flash.
My battery life on the EM1-mk1 with a Panasonic-Lumix 12-60 with IBIS is approximately 4 hours continuous. It does not matter if I shoot 30 shots or 300 shots, I have to change battery at about 4 hours.
The use of flash, as on the EM10, however does relate to number of shots battery life, as each shot with the flash drains the battery. So the more you shoot, the more you drain the battery.

A big variable is the lens.
The 12-40/2.8 lens in the video, does not drain the battery much; only AF and aperture.
The 12-40/2.8 does not have Sync-IS, like the 12-100, which will drain the battery FASTER.
I get approx a 40% time reduction when I use the 12-100 on the EM1-mk1; from 4 hours with the Panasonic 12-60 and IBIS down to 2-1/2 hours with the 12-100 and Sync-IS.
At the present, there are only TWO Olympus lenses with Sync-IS, so most people will not run into that issue.

I do not know how much the OIS of the Panasonic lenses affects battery drain vs. IBIS.

 

[Cederic]

Most people don't use the camera continuously for four hours though, so if the EM5iii has the same auto-shutoff that the EM1ii does (and I can't imagine that it wouldn't) then the battery life will be greatly extended through that alone.

I'm not sure I'd consider it the best camera for a disused mine though. Something with big fat sensor pixels feels more suitable to handle the distinct lack of light.

 

[ac12]

Most people don't use the camera continuously for four hours though, so if the EM5iii has the same auto-shutoff that the EM1ii does (and I can't imagine that it wouldn't) then the battery life will be greatly extended through that alone.

Yes, unless you are shooting a continuous event, like a sequential series of soccer matches, you are unlikely to be shooting 4 hours straight. So this worst case battery life is probably not a common occurrance.

However, that test separates the effect of the lens on battery life, from the battery life extending features such as sleep and shut-off.
So the purpose of the post was as a warning. The EM5-mk3 may have a lower power consumption, giving a longer battery life. But, IF you put on a power sucking lens, like the 12-100, that battery life WILL drop. And I do see the 12-100 as a lens that some EM5-mk3 users will use, just as I got and use it on my EM1-mk1. It is a great lens.

If the video was an outdoor shoot, with the 12-100, rather than an underground shoot with the 12-40, the reviewer might have commented on the relatively short battery life.